Minamoto No Yorimitsu Cuts at the Earth Spider

[ModderRhu]

Toasted sandalwood, tobacco flower, teakwood, castoreum accord, bourbon vanilla, and patchouli.

this does remind me of black lace! and galvanic goggles. it's that tobacco flower. i love it! i love all the other notes. i just found out that castoreum is (basically) beaver musk. i feel like a posh, cuddly beaver pup :3

[Diva Urd]

In the bottle: This is much fresher than I expected from the listed notes. Smells quite masculine while still in the bottle. I get wood and a hint of vanilla, the freshness might be the castoreum note (since I gather this is a type of musk).

 

On: Wet, there is definitely a soapy twang to it. Somehow, this scent is very reminiscent of something at this stage... Irish Spring. That's it. How... how did that happen?

 

Later: The Irish-Springy vibe has mostly left, but somehow, this still doesn't work on me. It has no throw, but if I get close enough, I get a noseful of after-shave-y powder. I think I'm going to pass this on.

[Gwydion]

In bottle: Mmmmm… Elegant! I don’t know what castoreum is, but process of elimination suggests it’s what’s doing that glorious thing with the tabacco flower. This is a rich green scent, with tobacco flower and castoreum dominant. The teakwood complements and grounds the scent. The vanilla and incense give it nuance. Wet: There is a bit more sandalwood and teakwood on the skin. It is still tobacco flower/castoreum dominant, but the woods are creeping up on them. All elements are pleasant and play well together. It suits well both the Japanese wood cut idea and the spring. Dry: A touch perfumey, and not as well balanced, but mostly a softer version of fresh.

[Redillon]

In the bottle: Fresh scent! I really don't get any of the notes that are listed. But I like it. It's not that strong in the bottle either and it's herbal.

 

ON skin: Very pretty. Almost floral but not quite. I get a faint whiff of vanilla but not much.

 

Dry down: Not a huge throw and it fades quickly on my skin. My skin LOVES to eat fragrances. I did get a compliment from a client at work, telling me I smell nice. It's starting to fade and smell like wax. That's okay. I still really love it.

[theasylph]

The standout of this blend is for me the tobacco flower. It provides a smoky soapiness with a hint of green. I love tobacco flower this reminds me a lot of one of Fresh's colognes for men aptly titled "Tobacco Flower" . I wanted to slather that over every man I knew, and myself. Sadly that was discontinued and very HTF so this blend is my new BF.

 

The sandalwood is very light and the patchouli I would never even suspect to be in there. On my skin the tobacco flower, vanilla and sandalwood are the standouts and the dry soapy factor of the tobacco flower mellows out maybe 10 minutes in. The drydown is beautiful, not overly sweet. I can see how this would make a fantastic unisex blend.

 

This does remind me of Black Lace w/o the cotton note which goes sour on me. They have a similar vibe but this is my fav.

[PurringPulsar]

Minamoto No Yorimitsu Cuts at the Earth Spider

 

In the imp: this reminds me of the tobacco-musk-sandalwood scent of Smoky Moon, but sweeter.

Wet on skin: a perfumey smell pops up, I guess that’s the castoreum, along with tobacco and sandalwood.

Dry on skin: the castoreum isn’t too bad here, it has turned oddly rubbery on me in the past but here it smells like a musky-leathery-floral scent that is quite pretty. The tobacco flower has the potential to turn very smoky or ashtray-like but for now it seems to be more floral than usual and has a scent almost like orange blossom. My skin must be out of whack because I swear it reminds me of Cabaret Goth right now. A smokier, woody version of CG, but I don’t understand why as the two scents don’t share any notes. I also smell a soft sandalwood and the glorious bourbon vanilla sweetens the scent.

After a while: now it reminds me more of Tavern of Hell but it still has a hint of Cabaret Goth to it, that same citrus-touched floral amber, however the smoky scent of the tobacco is too much…but it’s nowhere near as ashy and cigarette-like as some tobaccos can be. The sandalwood and vanilla are also stronger, but also smoother, at this point. It reminds me of a warmer version of Smoky Moon, whereas SM was silver, this is more like a soft dusky brown with hints of gold and purple.

Verdict: this one is interesting. I think I’m becoming more familiar with the castoreum accord and less apprehensive of it, here it smells really nice like sweetish leather with perfumey floral-musk tones. Though the sweetness could be due to the amazing vanilla in here. What surprises me most is the resemblance to Cabaret Goth I get, which is really lovely, at times it’s a smoky take on CG. The tobacco flower does amp up at times, which rather spoils the subtle nuances of the musk and vanilla with the sandalwood, but it’s one of the nicer tobacco flower notes I’ve smelt. That said, I don’t know if I like this enough to keep it, maybe if it were a little less tobacco-y I’d prefer it.

Is it a keeper? no.

If you like this, try: Dia, Tiersias, Schmendrick, Tavern of Hell, Smoky Moon, Vampire Tarot: The Priestess, Black Lace, Cabaret.Goth (if you can get it)

[inurbanus]

I really had no idea what to expect from this one but the notes sounded good, so I went ahead and got a bottle. Straight out of the bottle, this is very strong tobacco flower and teak. It's a pungent combination and I don't particularly like it - it's so smoky that it makes my nose tingle. However, after about 15 minutes, this disappears and is replaced by a lovely, unusual perfume. It's a creamy combination of sandalwood, vanilla, teak, patchouli, and tobacco flower. After it calms down, the tobacco flower is gorgeous - it's a full, slightly fruity aroma that complements the vanilla and woody notes perfectly. I agree that this resembles Black Lace, but with a twist. Brown Lace, maybe. It's fabulous and I can't wait to wear this throughout the cold winter.

[crebbsgirl]

This wasn't as sweet as I thought it was going to be. I got very little vanilla from this, and instead I get a distinctly masculine cologne-like vibe.

[mymymai]

In the Imp (ITI): There has a lovely woodsiness from the teak and sandalwood, but contains a sweet, seductiveness from the bourbon vanilla and the animalistic notes of the castoreum accord, which hints at a dangerous nature and perhaps a well choreographed struggle. The tobacco as an odd dimension, as it gives the scent a "cleanliness" aspect.

 

Wet: Clean teak and sandalwood, animalistic castoreum, a slight powderiness from the vanilla, earthiness from the patchouli all mix to give woodsy yet oriental infused vision.

 

Dry: On my skin, the vanilla has turned slightly powdery, but it's tempered by the teak and the sandalwood. There is just the faintest waft of tobacco and pepper. It's lovely, warm, woodsy, and slightly disquieting.

[Alethia]

Thoughts before testing: I'm almost afraid to try this, as I'm pretty certain this will be much too heavy for me.

 

Wet: Strong woods and patchouli, but it's gorgeous

 

Dry down: Teak is usually terrible on me, but it's working here. It's not too high pitched and instead is just pretty. The patchouli is smooth and lovely. The tobacco flower is finally making an appearance and turns the whole blend more polished.

 

Dry: This is a beautiful, well blended perfume and I can't believe how good it smells.

 

Final thoughts: This was a surprise stunner, and that'll teach me to judge a BPAL by it's cover

 

Verdict: Keeping!

[White_rabbit334]

Let me begin by saying something: this is definitely a unisex scent, maybe even leaning slightly towards masculine depending on what notes you tend to amplify. Don't let the beaver butt scare you! It's soft, delicate, and not even a touch stinky.

Now, my impressions:

 

In the bottle: This smells EXACTLY what I want my men to smell like, except... Well, except it could use a little amber and spice. >.> But OTHERWISE, it's like buying an expensive, well-blended bottle of man's perfume. Lots of woods, a HINT of bourbon vanilla (you can't really smell it in the bottle except for a certain... roundness, or a hint of sweetness at the very back of your nose), and plenty of patch. I can't smell the tobacco flower very strongly; not yet at least, but I suspect it's what gives this scent its depth.

 

Wet: Hoo-boy! I was a little intimidated for the first ten minutes here, because it smells VERY masculine, and very musky. There's the powder-notes of toasted sandalwood for me, which I amp strongly, but the teak is coming in as well; they're like Tango and Cash, or Cassidy and Sundance, you don't really find one without the other. There's a certain green, woodsy kick from this, and before long vanilla starts smoothing out the rough spots.

 

30 minutes later: The sharpness is fading, a blade dulled by repeated use. More toasty sandalwood, the beaver-butt developed into powdery musk on me; the tobacco flower and vanilla are definitely what make this unisex (barely, because on me I think I'm amping almost ALL the notes except the tobacco flower x_x ). However, I amp vanilla considerably, so I'm hoping that given another hour or two this'll be mostly a sweet/woodsy scent.

[Monday]

Wow, tobacco flower is the first thing that I smell. Light and perfumey, it reminds me of Black Lace but also of the Lady on the Grey which was all tobacco flower on my skin.

After a while I get a powdery sweet sandalwood note. When it's fully dry the powdery woods take over the scent.

I like how this morphs from sharp smoky tobacco flower to warm sweet woods but it fades quickly on my skin.

 

I looked up castoreum turns out it's obtained from a gland from the business end of a beaver. *eyetwitch*

[starbrow]

Minamoto has dipped in and out of my potential sales pile for years, but last time I was testing it (along with a bunch of other things), I ended up with a patch of skin that I could not stop huffing with amazement, and it turned out to be this one. So it was saved! Now, a more thorough testing.

 

The initial sniff is oblique. Somehow both smooth and bold; masculine; rugged. Dry tobacco and expensive cologne. That translates well onto skin, with a wet stage that goes on like a handsome cowboy. A good balance of sweetness and strength, with individual notes melded over ten years of aging. It's hard to isolate individual notes. It's so interesting how this reads both masculine to my nose and a bit sweetly floral (thanks no doubt to the tobacco flower + bourbon vanilla). I don't smell it and THINK those last two notes, but knowing they're in there, I can see how they contribute a woody, smoky floral presence to the blend. It's surprisingly sexy, picturing it on a man. That softer edge sets it apart from a lot of more aggressive perfumes in the tobacco-woods vein. It even tones down the teak! (Aging has helped with that a ton too, I'm sure!)

 

For me, now, the magic is not quite happening this time. However, I know this WILL be magic on the right skin, and it's an easy decision to let this bottle go and find its rightful wearer!

 

I would wear this while: sauntering through some swinging saloon doors in some impeccably polished boots

[Cali]

Honestly, after applying it once and not getting much, i slathered it... Still, not getting much?? It IS beautiful though, straight out of the bottle - there's this soft smoke with a hint of that dark sandalwood, and a lovely bourbon vanilla. Now that The Slathering seems to have dried down, it's a heady, musky, dark, soft masculine gothy scent. With a sweet goldengreen edge to it.

I have to get REALLY close to it to smell anything though, which is too bad, it's beautiful and if only it would amp it's mysterious goodness!! 

 

I should add: reminds me a liiittle bit of The laughter of Loki!

Edited November 12, 2022 by Cali